John Albert "Jack" Morrissey (May 2, 1876 – October 30, 1936), nicknamed "King", was an American professional baseball player from

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

who played parts of two season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

from 1902 to 1903.

Career

Morrissey began his professional baseball career at the age of 19 when joined the local

Lansing Senators Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

of the

Michigan State League The Michigan State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in various seasons between 1889 and 1941. The league franchises were based exclusively in Michigan, with the league forming on six different occasions. Twenty two different ...

in 1895, the only year of operation as a class "B" league in the 19th century. The following season, he travelled to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

to play for the Rabbits of the class "C" New Pacific League. In 1898, he was playing in the Canadian League for the

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Reds. Morrissey's next recorded playing period began in 1901, when he a member of the

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Furniture Makers of the Western Association, a class "A" league that was in operation for one season. In 1902, Morrissey played for two different minor league teams; the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

and the

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...

Reds of the Michigan State League. Toward the end of the 1902 season, he was signed by the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

, and made his Major League Baseball debut on September 18. For the remainder of the season, he appeared in 12 games, 11 of which were as their second baseman, collected 11

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 39

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s for a .282

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He re-signed with the Reds for the 1903 season, appearing in 29 games, 17 at second base and 8 as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

, before playing final major league contest on July 6. His final major league career totals include 41 games played while collecting 33 hits in 128 at bats for a .258 batting average. He played out the rest of the 1903 season with the

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Senators of the American Association, recently upgraded to a class "A" league, and the

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Colts of the class "B"

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. He relocated to Grand Rapids to play for the Orphans of the class "B"

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

for two seasons from 1904 to 1905, and was the club's

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

during his first season. From 1907 to 1914, he returned to the Lansing Senators, now of the class "D"

Southern Michigan League The Southern Michigan League was a Minor League Baseball circuit which operated between 1906 and 1912. It was classified as a Class D league from 1906 to 1910 and as a Class C league from 1911 to 1912. After that, the league was known as the Sou ...

. He was the team's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

all eight seasons with the Senators, while playing in 1907, 1908, and 1910. He died in his hometown of Lansing at the age of 60 on October 30, 1936, and is interred at the city's Mount Hope Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Jack 1876 births 1936 deaths Baseball players from Lansing, Michigan Major League Baseball second basemen Cincinnati Reds players Lansing Senators players Tacoma Rabbits players Chatham Reds players Grand Rapids Furniture Makers players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Muskegon Reds players Columbus Senators players Lawrence Colts players Grand Rapids Orphans players Mt. Clemens Bathers players Fort Wayne Indians players